Community from the Ground up !

Project Management for Co-housing Development, Nelson, BC

Our work in the field of Integral Community continues, taking shape in a variety of ways. In addition to us hosting events (retreats and seminars) on evolving the “We”, as well as consulting for various initiatives internationally, Stephan has spent the past year fully engaged as project manager of a Co-housing development near Nelson, BC.

He is bringing an integral perspective and vision to many aspects of this project, such as decision-making and communication processes, context, mediation, organizational structure, and many interior and exterior dimensions of forming a thriving collective.

This co-housing initiative involves 50 adults and 25 kids (under the age of 12!), with the development being over 90% pre-sold. Move-in date for this exciting project: April 2015.

The Vision

The purpose of coming together in this land ownership is to engage in and enjoy the mutual support and joy of community living. This co-housing collective will be shaped by the principles of embracing diversity, mindful communication, an environmental ethic of living lightly, and within a sustainable land use design.

The development is multi-generational, with many children and elders, and a diverse group of people with a variety of different skills and abilities to contribute.

What is Co-housing?

Co-housing developments are fast gaining momentum and popularity.

Co-housing neighborhoods are composed of privately-owned homes clustered around shared open space and common facilities.

A common house typically includes a dining room, kitchen, workshop space, kids area, guest rooms and lounge; it is the heart of the neighborhood for community diners and a variety of activities.

Cars are kept to the exterior of the site making the neighborhood pedestrian-friendly, kid-friendly and elderly-friendly.

Future residents are involved in the design so that it reflects their real needs and priorities, not those of a typical developer.

Environmental sustainability is a core value in cohousing projects with smaller homes, green building attributes and renewable energy systems made possible by combined efforts and shared resources.

On-site activities and companionship enable residents to socialize close to home, and helping to decrease the need to drive.

Overall this housing model brings social, environmental and economic benefits for a more sustainable lifestyle.

Project Manager

Stephan Martineau has spend the last 25 years researching the interface between interior dimensions of the human experience (emotions – intuition –beliefs –thoughts) and its interaction with exterior structures and systems (organizations, educational systems, families, relationships) and the ways in which this exterior/interior relationship can evolve to support sustainable cultures both in the human sphere and in the ecosphere. He is the Founder and President of Next Step Integral, an international organization that works in the areas of community development, education, parenting and ecology, specifically focusing on inner, interpersonal, and systemic transformation. At the very center of Next Step Integral’s vision and mission is the creation of authentic integral community, where the interface between ecology, humanity and evolutionary spirituality is explored. Stephan’s lifelong passion and pursuit is to move beyond ideas, discussions and theorizing to actually doing and being the changes we wish to see in the world.

For the last 17 years he has designed and led numerous transformative educational events internationally, specifically for ecologists, community builders, educators and parents.

Stephan also works as an integral consultant for organizations, businesses and intentional communities, as they develop vision, inter- and intrapersonal discernment skills and practices, and seek to implement these in ways that are effective and resilient to change.

He has worked in watershed management, ecosystem-based planning and community development since 1993. He is co-founder, president and business manager of the Slocan Integral Forestry Cooperative (SIFCo), a resident-based cooperative that manages a 35,000-acre community forest in the Slocan Valley, BC, where he successfully spearheaded an integral approach to a multi-stakeholder situation in one of BC’s most contentious areas in regards to forestry practices in Canada.

Stephan has created or helped create multiple coops and tenants in common land ownership agreements and has founded two non-profit societies. In 1992, at the age of 24 he founded and integrally informed intentional community, where he lived for 10 years. He currently lives in the Slocan Valley with his wife and 10-year old daughter where they home-school, garden and enjoy the outdoors.

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